Particularly of the animal variety, the completely unexpected messes can often be the ones that need extremely prompt attention. For this kind of occasion, make sure you have a pair of rubber gloves and a bottle of water/vinegar mixture handy under your sink.

Water in places it shouldn’t be

If you have a minor (or perhaps major) flood on your hands, focus first on any low-lying power points that may have appliances in them. These should be removed before water reaches them.

A fire inside

Perhaps it’s from the forgotten garlic bread in the oven. If you can, try to ventilate the area. Then attend to the source: do not use water! You need to starve the fire of oxygen, and this means you need to be prepared for such a situation by having an extinguisher or blanket in your kitchen.

Poweroutage

If you run on gas, then this is a non-issue. However by the time your electric stove is out, you don’t exactly have time to make the switch to gas, the more disaster-friendly supplier. In this event, you should find any switches that were on and turn them off. Avoid opening the refrigerator. Then, check your main switchboard to see whether something tripped the main.

Broken glass

Put on shoes, if you aren’t already wearing them, and let everyone know that the kitchen is a no-go zone. You should attempt to gather large pieces and then use a vacuum cleaner for any smaller bits that may have travelled – be aware that you aren’t likely to be able to see such pieces, so clean in a wide circle around the point of interest.

A knife wound

An unfortunately common occasion, especially for those who are fond of cooking. In this event, you should stop cooking immediately to assess how bad the cut is – this means also turning off the stove. Wash the wound and wrap it, then hold it above your heart and wait for the bleeding to subside. If the bleeding is more persistent, call an emergency number. Keep paper towel close by just in case this happens to you.

A blocked drain

Put a bucket under the pipe, and use a plunger in an attempt to remove any blockages. You should then check the grease trap in the s-bend part of your pipe (this is where the bucket comes in handy). If this process doesn’t yield results, call a plumber.